Maddow’s Rapinoe Interview Finishes 2nd in Tuesday’s Ratings, Hannity Takes Top Spot

While Fox News has largely dominated the primetime cable news landscape — save for MSNBC’s recent Democratic primary debates — over the past few months, MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show got itself a little bit of a boost on Tuesday night when World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe sat down for a lengthy interview, driving the one-time ratings champ to a decent second-place finish for the night.

At the same time, Fox News still led across the board while Maddow’s 9 PM competitor was the most-watched cable news show of the day.

According to Nielsen, Maddow drew a total viewership of 2.712 million and 403,000 in the key 25-54 demographic to place second overall in both metrics. Hannity, meanwhile, drew 453,000 demo viewers and a total audience of 2.939 million to lead cable news in those categories.

During the primetime 8-11 PM hours, Fox News led the way with 2.262 million viewers overall and 407,000 in the key demo. MSNBC placed second with 2.092 million total viewers and 298,000 in the demographic. CNN finished a distant third, drawing 217,000 demo viewers and a total audience of 836,000.

In the daytime 9 AM to 5 PM hours, Fox News averaged 1.301 million total viewers and 193,000 in the demographic. CNN posted a demo viewership of 120,000 and 577,000 viewers overall. MSNBC nabbed a total audience of 851,000 and 102,000 in the demo.

On CNN, the most-watched program of the day was Anderson Cooper 360, which also featured an interview with Rapinoe. The 8 PM show drew a total of 849,000 viewers. The 10 PM broadcast of CNN Tonight led the network in the demo with 222,000.